The Red Flash
by narutoobsessedgurl
Summary: What if Kushina had survived the Kyuubi attack? What if Naruko was born as a red head? What if the Flying Thunder God was just a bloodline, not a jutsu? Everything would have changed, and Naruko would be a completely different person. Raised among the sand rather than the leaves, she would also be changed. And what happens when she meets another little red head? FEM!Naru x Gaara
1. Leaving the Leaf

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Ugghhhh! Why do I feel like I've been hit by a truck!" A voice whined loudly.

Tsunade smirked as she leaned against the wall. "You had a tough pregnancy, and your feeling weak now. It's perfectly natural, and many women go through it."

"Oh. Well I don't like it! It hurts ya know!" The woman yelled. "Besides, where's my daughter? I wanna see her ttebayo!"

"Umm... we should talk about that." Tsunade said nervously, sitting on the edge of the woman's bed.

"What do you mean." The woman said warily, sitting up even though it was painful.

"You know how it is. Women who hold jinchurriki are weakened at childbirth, and yours, well, it escaped. So... your husband sealed it into your daughter, taking his own life." She said.

Violet eyes widened. "What? That's not true! It's not true ttebayo! MINATO CAN'T BE DEAD! HE CAN'T!"

"I'm sorry Kushina-chan. He is... and the council... they see Naruko as a threat, and they voted that they should kill her, Sensei and I have barely been able to hold them off." Tsunade said.

"WHAT?! HOW DARE THEY THREATEN MY BABY! I'LL KILL THEM!" Kushina yelled, standing up and quickly falling down on her butt.

"Kushina! You're still weak from your pregnancy! You can't walk right now, so I'll put you in a wheelchair to get you there." Tsunade said, picking the woman up and putting her in a wheelchair.

"How degrading." Kushina mumbled, crossing her arms.

* * *

The two found themselves in the presence of the council soon enough.

"You! What's wrong with all of you!? After all that Minato has given you! He even sacrificed his own life and his DAUGHTER, to save this damn village! And you pay him back by wanting to kill his child?!" Kushina yelled at them.

"This! It's not a child!" Homura exclaimed. "This thing is a demon!"

"Homura-sama is right!" Yelled Mina Haruno. The pink-headed bitch. "That thing isn't human!"

"Fugaku! You and Minato were best friends as children! We even made an agreement to marry my daughter to your son once they come of age! Do you support this?!" Kushina yelled at him.

"While I do not support killing her, she will no longer marry my son, as circumstances have changed." Fugaku said calmly.

"Hmph! Fine then! If this damn village doesn't appreciate all that Minato and I have done for it, then I'll just take my daughter and leave!" Kushina said.

"You may not take her from this village!" Danzo yelled. "She is one of the tailed beasts, the only one that Konoha possesses! Konoha should train her to become the strongest shinobi of all time! Are you fools not paying attention? She holds the strongest of the tailed beasts, making her have the potential to become the strongest ninja!"

"You're all sick!" Kushina yelled, standing up despite Tsunade's protests. She walked over to the crib in the room and picked up her sleeping child. "I'm taking Naruko and leaving! I'll be gone by tonight so none of you will have to worry about your 'demon' anymore!"

She huffed and shunshined back home before anyone could protest anymore. When she reached her house she quickly grabbed a baby bag and packed everything her daughter would need and then picked up Naruko and went to her and Minato's room.

Kushina packed her own bag of stuff and looked sadly at Minato's clothes before picking up his usual attire and his Hokage cloak and putting them in a scroll in her bag so she would have something for her and Naruko to remember him by.

She went into the private room they had and quickly took all of the family money that was in there, which to leave at short, was a LOT. And she took all of the family jutsu scrolls her and Minato had written up for Naruko and some of his special kunai.

After everything was packed, she grabbed it all and scooped her daughter up into her arms. She shunshined to the gate of the village and sighed.

* * *

This was it.

She thought this place had been her true home when she moved here as a child but... by the way they had treated her daughter, she was obviously wrong.

She took a step forward before she heard a call.

"Kushina-chan! Wait!"

She bit her lip and felt tears at the corner of her eyes. She had only been thinking about how this would affect her and her daughter, not this person. She and Naruko... they were all this person had left.

"Please! Kushina-chan! Don't leave!" She heard the voice beg.

She lifted her head and swallowed the lump in her throat. "Kakashi-kun... you don't know what your saying. They... they're going to kill Naruko if I stay."

"Then please! Let me come with you! Rin, Obito, Sensei! They're all gone! You and Naruko are the only people I have left!" Kakashi said.

Kushina turned quickly. "Kakashi... you want to... come?"

"Of course, if you're not staying, then I have to come with you! While you're a very strong kunoichi you're weak from childbirth. Plus, you and Naruko... you're the only family I have left..." He ended quietly.

Kushina smiled. "Well... if you're sure. Though you are a bit young to be leaving your village?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Please! I'm only 4 years younger than you!"

Kushina chuckled and ruffled the fourteen-year old's hair. "Right, sometimes I forget just how old you've gotten!" she smiled. "Ne, do you want to hold Naruko?"

Kakashi looked up with excited eyes. "Can I?"

"Go ahead." Kushina said as they walked out of the village, handing Kakashi the baby in her arms.

Kakashi smiled down at the little girl with red hair and blue eyes, who was awake and giggling. He bounced her in his arms slightly and cooed at her.

"Ne, Kushina-chan, where exactly ARE we going?" He asked, still looking down at the baby.

"I was thinking Suna. It seems like an okay place to live, considering Iwa and Kumo want to kill us, and Mist is just one big massacre." Kushina said.

"Good plan." Kakashi said.

Kushina quickly took her headband off and put an angry slash through the metal, before tying it back on. She looked at Kakashi who nodded, and she put a slash through his as well.

* * *

Two Sand shinobi jumped in front of them.

"Halt!" One said. "Why are you here?"

"We wish to transfer from the Leaf Village to the Sand Village. I'm done with that god forbidden place! I'd like to meet with Kazekage-sama, we can discuss this. I believe I have valuable information as well as some very valuable assets that your village would be glad to have." Kushina said.

"Alright, we shall take you to see Kazekage-sama now." The other said.

* * *

Kushina found herself side by side with Kakashi, on their knees with their heads bowed. This was so degrading! However, if it was necessary, she would do it. Naruko needed it.

"So, tell me what Kakashi the Copy Nin and The Red Hot Habanero are doing in my presence." The Kazekage said.

"We would like to join the Sand Village." Kushina said.

"Would you?" He asked.

"Yes, we would be honored to. Plus, we have some very valuable information and qualities you would appreciate." Kushina said.

"Tell me about this then." The Kazekage said calmly.

"You see, not only has the Leaf been weakened by war, but they were just weakened by a tailed beast attack." Kushina said. "Not only that, but my husband and the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, is now dead. The nine-tailed fox demon, sealed into my daughter, Naruko Namikaze."

The Kazekage had a quick intake of breath. "So... this child you hold... contains the Kyuubi?"

"Yes she does, Kazekage-sama." Kushina said.

"Well, I must say, that is certainly a valuable asset, very well, you as well as Copy Nin Kakashi shall be accepted into the Sand Village." The Kazekage said. After all, he wasn't stupid enough to turn down the greatest of the tailed beasts. "As long as you can prove the child holds it."

"Kakashi." Kushina said, and Kakashi nodded, taking Naruko in his arms and walking up to the Kazekage. He pulled up the baby's shirt and channeled chakra to her stomach, where a seal appeared. Kushina would have done it, but she was still weak from childbirth.

"Very well, you are both accepted as ninja of the Sand village." He said.

"Umm, Kazekage-sama? May I request two more things?" Kushina asked.

"I suppose." He said.

"First, I would like to stay off duty as a ninja, so I may raise Naruko to become a powerful and useful kunoichi for the Sand." Kushina said.

"Approved. Next?" He said.

"Also, I would like Clan status." She said.

"Now, why should I give you clan status? After all, for years there have been the main 12 houses for clans, why should that change?" He asked.

"Because, not only does Naruko have Uzumaki blood in her, which I can teach her to unlock the chakra chains with, and longevity, she has Namikaze blood. Minato never wanted to tell anyone this, but, his Flying Thunder God technique... it's purely a bloodline. It doesn't need the kunai he threw around, it's purely natural. He just used those so he wouldn't have to become a clan head, since he didn't want another thing to make people want to track him down and kill him." Kushina said.

Kakashi's eyes widened. Even he didn't know this! But why? Why didn't his sensei tell him? It's not like he would go around and tell everyone! Maybe his sensei... didn't truly believe in him or trust him...

"Kakashi-kun." He heard, making him break out of his thoughts. "Don't think Minato didn't care about you or trust you because he didn't tell you this. He didn't tell me until the day I went into labor with Naruko. He said he never wanted to tell anyone unless his child unlocked it, which he knew was likely, and he wouldn't have told me if he didn't think he would die. Don't worry about it." Kushina said.

"Very well, however, there is a problem." The Kazekage said. "Women can't be the first clan head of a clan. After the first, yes, they can become clan head, but the first must be a male. So, what will you do?"

Kushina but her lip but then smirked. "Very well, we will become the Hatake clan, with Kakashi as the head."

"What?" the Kazekage said.

"WHAT?!" Kakashi yelled looking at her.

"No no no! That won't work! They must be the heir's legal father to be the clan head!" the Kazekage said, trying to come up with some excuse not to establish another clan. If he did, right then, the council would be pissed at him.

"Okay, then I will marry Kakashi-kun. He will be my husband and Naruko's father." Kushina said.

"Ummm.. Excuse me Kazekage-sama, but may I speak to Kushina outside for a minute." Kakashi asked.

"Very well." He said, hoping the boy would find some way to make her change her mind.

Kakashi dragged Kushina out into the hall, still holding Naruko, and shut the door.

"Kushina-chan! Are you crazy?! Me?! Marry you?! I can't do that?!" Kakashi said.

"Why not? You pointed out to me that you were in fact, only 4 years younger than me. That's not to big of an age gap. And you said Naruko and I are your family! This will make us a family!" Kushina said.

"I didn't mean it in this way!" He said.

"Please Kashi-kun! Naruko needs this! To get any respect as a jinchurriki, you need to be from a clan! Plus, I want to make sure she continues her father's legacy. Please Kashi-kun!" Kushina said.

Kakashi sighed. "But... marrying you... that just seems like I'm betraying sensei."

"Kakashi, I'm sorry but... Minato is dead. He isn't coming back to life. Never. Don't you think we both deserve some happiness? I know Minato would want us to be happy. As newbies in a village, we won't be respected if we're not in a clan, and we'll be looked down upon. I don't want Naruko to grow up sad like that, plus... I think you and I... we might actually work out." Kushina said.

"You... do?" He asked. "Like as a couple?"

"Well, eventually, maybe. But I know that you'll be a great father to Naruko for the time being. And well... if we end up working out, then... well, that's that, and we'll be together." Kushina said.

Kakashi looked down at Naruko and realized, he actually could pass as he father. She had her mother's hair, but had Minato's eyes, though they could easily say they were one of their parent's eye colors. But he actually shared quite a bit of physical features with her. He could... be Naruko's father.

While he felt as if he was betraying his sensei, he knew Kushina was right. He would... go along with this. Plus, it would be nice to have such a cute daughter.

"Alright... I'll do it." He said.

Kushina squealed and hugged him, before kissing him on the cheek, making him blush.

"Yes! That's my Kashi-kun! Aren't you proud of your tou-chan Naruko?" She asked the little baby, who giggled happily.

They walked back in and told the Kazekage their decision and he agreed to them becoming an official clan. The couple had a quick mini marriage ceremony with the Kazekage as well as two other clan heads as witnesses and got their clan license signed before the Kazekage gave them a lot that already had a grand house built on it for their clan.

* * *

The newlyweds walked to their new clan compound and couldn't help but feel a little weird. Honestly, neither had ever imagined marrying each other that day, and it was kinda freaky. But hey, it was worth it, for Naruko.

All for Naruko Hatake.


	2. They Meet

Naruko giggled as she rode on her father's shoulders, getting a good view of everything around her. She looked around curiously at all the shops and people bustling about. Her father stopped at a stand and took her off his shoulders, setting her on the ground.

"Ne, Naruko, do you want a pop?" he asked.

"Yeah Tou-chan! Pop!" She cheered, bouncing up and down.

Kakashi chuckled before buying a two person pop and splitting it in two, handing half to her.

"Ne, tou-chan! Can't I have both?" She said, making her best puppy eyes at him.

Kakashi chuckled. "Now now Naruko, you know Kaa-chan will kill me if you aren't hungry for dinner." He said, patting her red-haired head.

She giggled. "Kaa-chan gets mad!" She said, using her rather limited vocabulary. "Ne! Ne! Can we go to the park pwease?"

Kakashi nearly melted at his adorable little daughter. "Of course honey." he said, walking with her towards the park.

* * *

When they were a few feet from the entrance, Naruko giggled and ran ahead. Kakashi smiled as he watched her run off. He had actually taken his mask off a long time ago, so everyone knew what his face looked like. He figured it was easiest that way. Kushina was already badgering him that she should at least get to see her husband's face, and since he was in a new village where many didn't know him, and he also wanted his daughter to know what he looked like, he had gotten rid of the thing.

Kakashi had also shot up like a weed over the past few years. He had filled out more, gaining broader shoulders and a more adult form, making it seem more believable that he was a father. The rest of his baby fat burned away and he had started growing a beard, though he always shaved it, he had never been one for beards.

The four year old ran ahead and looked around the park for someone to play with as her father leaned against a tree, watching her.

She looked around and saw a boy with the same hair as her and smiled. He looked like he would be a good friend. She ran over to him, as he was sitting on a swing and stood by his side.

"Hi! You wanna play?" She asked, smiling happily.

"M-me? B-but, I'm a monster." The boy said.

Naruko frowned, "A monster? You're not a monster! Monsters are big and scary!"

"But, they say I'm a monster..." He trailed off.

"Well, then they're a bunch of stupid heads!" She said, before grabbing his hand and tugging him to the sand box. "Come on, let's play! I'm Naruko!"

"Gaara." The boy said.

* * *

Kakashi smiled as he watched the two children play, and a then a woman walked over to him.

"You're that cute little girl's father aren't you?" She asked.

"Yes, I am. Why?" Kakashi asked.

"A word of advice, don't let her play with that boy, he's a monster. He holds the one tailed Shukaku in him! He'll kill her!" she told him.

Kakashi glared at the woman. That poor boy was a four year old child who would have trouble hurting a fly. He hated when people did this, when people judged others from these trivial types of things. His own daughter contained a tailed beast, the strongest one at that, and they treated her like any other normal child. And why? Because they didn't know she contained it. It was all in people's heads that they were dangerous.

"Thanks, but I don't need you advice." he bit out.

"No need to get so edgy." the woman said, holding his arm and pressing her breasts into him.

Kakashi rolled his eyes. Women were so clueless sometimes. He supposed this particular one must have had an accident that led her to having a blind spot, that seemed to have rested right where the ring on his finger was.

A chuckle sounded behind them and they turned to see Kushina standing there, cracking her knuckles. "I suggest you let go of my husband before I break your face." She said sweetly.

The woman ran off once she recognized the woman as THE Kushina. Kushina laughed and walked up to stand beside her husband. They watched their daughter play with the red-haired boy and smiled.

Kushina kissed Kakashi's cheek. "Ne, Kakashi-kun, you didn't let Naruko have too many sweets right? Because if she doesn't eat her dinner, I'm gonna be pissed."

Kakashi chuckled. "Really? You think after the first time that happened I would ever let that happen again? No way. I already got pushed through a barb wire fence and off a cliff once after I did that, I don't need that to happen again."

"Nice to know you've learned your lesson." Kushina said.

"Trust me, I have." He said, turning to her and smiling.

The two leaned forward and kissed each other. They had grown very close over the past 4 years, after all, having a child did so that to people. They really did fall in love, even though neither had expected to really. After all, Minato... he was a sore subject in their family. They hadn't told Naruko yet, they would wait until she was older, she wouldn't understand right now. Though they did have Minato's cloak framed and put up in their house. Naruko had asked about it, but they had just told her they would tell her about it when she was older, which she had accepted.

"Eeeewwww!" Naruko whined as she saw them. "Kaa-chan! Tou-chan!"

They separated and smiled at their daughter. Then they saw that her hand was slipped into the little red-headed boy's from earlier.

"Ne Naruko, is this your friend?" Kushina asked, kneeling in front of them.

"Yeah! This is Gaara!" She chanted.

"H-Hello." Gaara said, nervous to see his only new friend's parents' reaction. Whenever the rare occasion came around where another kid would become friends with him, their parents would always break it off. He practically expected it now.

"Hello Gaara! Do you want to come over our house for dinner?" Kushina asked nicely.

What? She wasn't telling the truth was she? He was a monster! At least... that's what everyone told him...

"Umm.. sure." He said.

"Can't we play longer?" Naruko asked.

"No honey, we need to get home so Kaa-chan can start cooking. You can play in the backyard though." Kakashi said.

"Okay Tou-chan!" Naruko cheered. "Gaara, C'mon!" She cheered, leading the boy ahead.

Kushina giggled as she and Kakashi walked behind the children and she turned to him.

"Ne, Kashi-kun, do you think they'll end up together? That would be so cute! Imagine it! Kawaii!" Kushina mused.

"Don't joke about something like that." Kakashi said. "If you keep wishing for Naruko to fall in love, then she will, and we'll lose our little girl. I swear, if any boy comes anywhere close to touching her, I'll personally hunt him down, and kill him."

"Jeez Kashi-kun, clam down, she's 4. And trust me, when guys start to go after her, I'll be there beating them into the ground too." Kushina said.

* * *

"Look! Gaara! That's my house! You see it?!" Naruko cheered, bouncing up and down.

"Yeah. It's big." Gaara stated.

"Let's go!" She cheered, fist pumping the air and grabbing his hand, then running up to the house with him.

* * *

"This is my room!" Naruko cheered, twirling around her bright orange room. She giggled. "Ne, Gaara,, do you like it?"

"Yeah, it's nice." He said. "Orange?"

"It's the bestest!" The little four year-old said. "Let's play more!" She reached under her bed and pulled out a box full of blocks.

The two kids sat own and started to build stuff with the blocks, before Naruko would pretend to be a monster and knock them over. Gaara laughed with her, and he was surprised.

This girl... why was she so nice to him? Everyone else hated him, but she... she seemed to like him. He was playing, like a normal kid. He didn't know what made her do this but... he liked it. He liked her. Naruko.

His first friend.

"Ne! Gaara! Let's play hide and clap!" Naruko cheered.

"Hide and clap?" He asked.

"Yeah! My Kaa-chan plays it with me! You hide, and then I have a blindfold on and you clap, and I try to find you! I only get three claps though..." Naruko said.

"Okay." Gaara said, not wanting to upset his friend who seemed to be fond of the game.

"Alright! You hide!" Naruko cheered before she put the blindfold on and started spinning around.

Gaara tried to be quiet as he went through the house and tried to find a suitable hiding place.

"10!" Naruko called out, stopping her spinning. "First Clap!"

Clap! Clap!

Naruko felt her way down the hall, trying not to trip over things. When she thought she was right about in the middle of the hall from the way she had heard it, she decided to call it out again.

"Second Clap!"

Clap! Clap!

She smiled as she felt her way to the room she heard the clap come from and felt around. She could tell it was her playroom, and frowned as she tripped over her toys. Maybe she should do what her mom said and clean those up...

"Third Clap!" She called out.

Clap! Clap!

Naruko smiled, she knew where he was! He was in between the little table she colored on and her bookcase with all of her stories. She ran over, but then stepped on a lego.

"OUCH!" She yelled, ripping of her blindfold as she fell to the floor. "Stupid Lego!" She rubbed her foot and then looked up as she realized. "I lost!" She whined.

"Are you okay Naruko?" Gaara asked, concerned for his friend.

"Yeah, I'll be better soon."

* * *

"Kids! Dinner time!" Kushina called out. Quickly, little pitter patters of feet sounded through the house as well as an excited yell.

Kakashi chuckled as he put his paper down on the table. His daughter was definitely an excitable one, she was so hard to keep up with sometimes. He watched as the two red heads slid into their seats across from him and Kushina and he smiled.

"Kaa-chan? Did you make cookies?" Naruko asked excitedly.

"Yes honey, but only because your friend is over." Kushina said.

"Yay! Kaa-chan's cookies are the best!"

They all sat down and ate dinner, Naruko filling the table with chatter. The dinner passed by quickly, and Naruko found that her friend had to go home. She hugged him hard, surprising the boy.

"I'll miss you Gaara! Let's talk again soon, okay?" She said, smiling.

He nodded and then his uncle came into the room to walk him home.

Naruko nestled down into her bed and sighed contently, it was a fun day. She had even made a new friend! Gaara...

She liked him.

* * *

**Hey Guys! Yes, I really just used the game from the Conjuring... I have a really good plan for it though! Trust me, you guys are gonna like it! Sorry I've been updating slow for me, I've had a BUNCH of work, since it's the end of the term, and all my teachers are like, freaking out. So yeah, I still have more to do, and I'm neglecting my English project for you guys! Your welcome!**

**Hope you guys liked it!**

**PEACE!**

**~narutoobsessedgurl**


	3. The Academy

Naruko huffed and puffed as she looked at the post that had several kunai stuck in it. She had managed to get on in the bull's eye, but the other ones were off.

UGGHHH! Why couldn't she get this!?

She was eight years old now! She was starting the academy in 2 days! She should be able to get some stupid kunai on target!

She straightened herself and prepared to throw some more, readying them in her hand when she caught movement in the corner of her eye. She lowered her arm as her two year-old brother ran towards her with a glass of water.

"Wataah!" He said, holding the glass high above his head to give it to her.

Naruko giggled. "Thank you." She said before taking a long swig of the glass. Her little brother giggled excitedly, and she smiled.

He was such a cutie! Her mom had given birth to the little boy a few months before her sixth birthday, and she had been overjoyed. He was a little thing, with red hair and coal black eyes. Her dad had complained that he had red hair too, couldn't he just have one kid with his hair color? It was so cool! Stupid Uzumaki genes.

Yes, Naruko knew well about her clan, and the clans she had come from. She knew she would inherit bloodlines from her mother and father, as they had told her. She had learned all about the chakra chains she would inherit from her mother, but her parents always changed the subject when she asked about her other bloodline. She didn't know why though. Her dad was right there, why didn't they just talk about it? Was it a bad bloodline? But they had gone to say that Obito (her little brother), would not inherit it. Why? Did it only come out in girls or something? HAH! Girls rule and boys drool!

She had just started training as a kunoichi about a year earlier, and it wasn't serious training. She practiced her running, which living in Suna helped, since the Sand Dunes almost acted as a weight on their own, so she didn't need to get weights. She also had started training with kunai and her father had told her she would start training with his favorite weapon as a child and one of their heirlooms, the White Light Chakra Sabre. He still had her on wood swords though and told her she would get the sword at some time in the future, no specific time, just when he felt she was ready.

She had wanted to use chakra and jutsus, but her parents didn't want her to. It can be dangerous for a child to use chakra at a young age, and especially with the Kyuubi's chakra coils changing hers and mixing their chakra, they were even more reluctant to do it.

"OBITO! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT GOING OUTSIDE WHILE NARUKO OR TOU-CHAN ARE TRAINING!" Kushina yelled, storming outside in a wild fury.

Naruko got in front of her brother. "Kaa-chan, he's two, he doesn't know better, remember?"

Kushina sighed. "I know... it's just... I'm so worried about you two getting hurt, that I'm always worrying about you. It doesn't calm me when you're out here training with real kunai and he walks out."

"I know Kaa-chan, but I immediately put down my weapons. I won't hurt otouto." Naruko said, ruffling her little brother's hair.

"Nee-chan!" He chorused, clinging to her leg happily.

Naruko giggled and patted his head again before her mom picked him up and carried him back inside. She bent down to pick up her weapons back up when she felt eyes on her. She tried to probe around with her chakra, which she practiced when her parent's weren't paying attention. They would kill her if they found out, but she just wanted to use it so much! Chakra was so cool! But she could just barely cast it out of her body to try to get a feel for other people. She was a good sensor, she didn't know why though, both her parents sucked at sensing, so shouldn't she?

She smiled. "First Clap!" She called out, to hear a clap come from behind her. She turned around and saw her best friend, Gaara, sitting on a tree branch and smiling down at her.

"Hey!" She said, smiling.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked.

"Ahhh, same old same old, how about you?" She asked, jumping up and grabbing his hand, where he pulled her up to the branch while she propelled herself up by pushing against the trunk with her feet.

"Fine, but my father," He spit out the last word with venom, "wants me to go to some stupid meeting with a bunch of old people."

"Ewww! Old farts are nasty!" Naruko said, sticking her tongue out and laughing.

"Wanna come with?" He asked.

"Volunteer to be with a bunch of old farts? No thanks, how about you just hide here?" She suggested.

"No, Yashamaru knows how much I come here, it would be the first place he would check." Gaara said.

"Why?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Well, you're my best friend." Gaara said quietly, looking at his hands. "So he would check at my best friend's house first."

Naruko hugged him tightly, making the boy feel a bit awkward, he had only started being able to talk like a normal person after years of being with Naruko. Or, a semi-normal talking person, since she talked rather oddly, but she always hit him over the head when he told her that. Anyways, he wasn't very sure how to react quick enough to things like that.

"Awww! Thanks Gaara! You're my best friend too!" She squealed, before letting him go. "Let's go eat some cookies! My kaa-chan made some! Chocolate Chip!"

She jumped down to the ground and Gaara followed suit, the pair walking into the house. They opened the sliding door and entered into the dining room, both taking off their shoes and putting them on the mat before going to the kitchen.

"Kaa-chan! Gaara's here!" She called out, taking two cookies and handing one to Gaara.

"Okay! Hi Gaara!" Kushina called from somewhere upstairs.

"Let's go downstairs!" Naruko said, both read heads going into their finished basement that Kushina and Kakashi had made into a huge playroom for their children.

The two played all afternoon before they heard the doorbell ring and the sound of footsteps, before a muffled hello.

"I'm here for Gaara." They heard muffled through the floors.

"Go! Go!" Naruko screamed in a whisper, so as not to alert the adults.

Gaara ran into the closer and shut the door just as the adults came down the stairs. Naruko still sat on the floor, just nonchalantly playing with her toys.

"Naruko, where's Gaara?" Kushina asked her daughter.

Naruko shrugged and kept playing. Kushina rolled her eyes and kneeled next to her.

"This is important Naruko, he NEEDS to go home right now." She said.

"I don't know where he is." Naruko said, still playing.

"If you don't tell me where he is, I'll make sure Tou-chan gives the White Light Chakra Sabre to Obito." Kushina threatened.

"HE'S IN THE CLOSET! HE'S IN THE CLOSET!" She immediately surrendered, not wanting to lose the precious heirloom that was supposed to go to her.

She opened the door and smiled as she found the red head standing there in the middle of a face palm. She grabbed his shoulder and pulled him out of the closet, handing him over to Yashamaru.

"Thank you, Kushina." He said, before leaving with Gaara.

"Sorry Gaara! I can't lose my Chakra Sabre!" She yelled after him as he left with his Uncle.

Naruko bounced in her step as she walked towards the academy, her hand in her father's, who had made sure to take the right missions so that he would have this day to recover, and be able to take her on her first day.

Kushina was still at home, taking care of Obito, but she was fine with that, her father was here! She was definitely a daddy's little girl.

"Tou-chan! I'm so excited! Me and Gaara are gonna talk and have so much fun! And I bet Hoshiko is going to be in our class, and Koji too! And I'm gonna see Mei there too! And-"

"Naruko, don't forget to actually pay attention during class." Kakashi said amused with his daughter.

"Yeah, yeah! Don't worry! I'm gonna study and write until my hand and eyes fall out!" She said. "I'm gonna be the best kunoichi ever tou-chan! Believe it!" She chanted.

He chuckled and walked up to the academy with his precious little girl and led her into her classroom, where she immediately searched the rows for the familiar shock of the same shade of red hair as hers and found it. Her dad kissed her on the head and she went over, letting him talk to her teacher.

"Gaara!" She said, sliding into the seat next to him and dropping her bag on the floor next to her chair. She turned to him and noticed him still looking ahead. "Gaara?"

He refused to acknowledge her and looked ahead, blocking her out. She frowned and scowled. "Ne, why are you ignoring me?"

Again, no response.

"Hey! Stop being such a jerk ttebayo! I'm your friend, talk to me!" She said.

"I'm not your friend." He said coldly, still staring impassively ahead.

Naruko's eyes widened as she made a small, quiet gasp. She felt as if a knife was being driven through her heart. Her best friend... he didn't like her? He doesn't consider her his friend? Did her ever? Wait, but yesterday... he must have been lying! The jerk!

She stood up and stomped her foot, grabbing her bag before slamming her chair back into the desk, nearly breaking the desk from inheriting her mother's famous temper. Fire burned in her eyes and she glared at her FORMER best friend, waiting for him to say something. When he didn't she decided to take action.

"FINE! If you don't wanna be friends, then why would I sit next to you? You're just a lying jerk! I hate you!" She yelled, before stomping down the aisle and dropping her bag next to Hoshiko's seat, who was another one of her friends.

She ran out of the classroom, her dad not seeing her as he had already left. She was partially grateful though, she didn't want her dad to see her like this. She ran down the hall and into the bathroom she spotted.

Locking herself in one of the stalls, she broke down and cried. Why? What had happened to Gaara? Why did he not wanna be friends anymore? They'd been friends for 4 years and were nearly inseparable! Well, before this anyways...

She stayed in there for the first hour of school, just crying her eyes out before she managed to go back to class. She sat solemnly through it for the rest of the day, blocking out whatever her teacher was saying. She trudged home later and walked inside, going straight to her room an locking it.

Around 6:00, her mom knocked on her door.

"Naruko? What's wrong? I haven't seen you since this morning." She said through the door.

Naruko lay on her bed, her dry eyes staring ahead. They were a darker shade of blue, rather than the normal sky blue, they always seemed to lose the color in them when she was sad. She had cried for hours when she had returned home, but her tears were all gone now.

"Naruko? You should come out, it's dinner time. Kushina said.

"I'm not hungry." Naruko said in a raspy voice.

"But I made your favorite. Ramen." Kushina said.

"I'm not hungry." Naruko repeated.

Her mom gave up and walked down stairs to eat dinner, but returned to her daughter's room later that night. She used a trick she remembered from her kunoichi days to unlock the door and went inside. She sat on the bed nest to her daughter and stroked her hair.

Her normally bubbly girl seemed lifeless, like she had nothing left to live for. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"I don't wanna talk about it." Naruko said.

Kushina knew pushing her daughter would only make it worse, and that she would come to her when she was ready. So she let her daughter be and went to go talk to her husband to see if he knew what was going on.

Naruko hesitated before making her decision, she would follow Gaara home today, and see what was up with him. Why he was being so cold to her. She wanted, no, NEEDED to know why her best friend stopped talking to her.

She walked behind him and they were almost completely to his house when Gaara stopped, not turning around.

"What do you want?" He asked coldly.

Naruko felt tears pooling in her eyes. "What do I want? WHAT DO I WANT?! I want to know why you're treating me like this! You said I was your best friend! What happened?! I don't understand Gaara, what did I do wrong?! Was it because I gave you over to your Uncle?! I just really want my family heirloom! I'm sorry! Was the meeting that bad though, that you don't even wanna be friends with me anymore!? I'm sorry! Please Gaara! I need my best friend back! I need you back! I love you!"

Gaara stiffened. "You... love me?"

"Of course I do!" Naruko said, tears flowing down her face.

"No... nobody loves me... I'm just a monster... A monster who kills." Gaara said.

The sound of a slap echoed through the air as Naruko slapped Gaara in the face, leaving him stunned.

"You're such an idiot! You're not a monster and people do love you! I LOVE YOU!" She said. "Why don't you get that? But... it's a different kind of love... I think... I don't know! I don't understand how I feel! But whenever I'm around you, I feel happier than when I'm with my other friends... I get all nervous when we're close and can't help but feel excited and happy when you hug me. I just don't know-"

Gaara cut her speech off by hugging her, and she was shocked at first. He was never the one to initiate the hug. She smiled sadly and wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm... sorry." Gaara said. "It... I wasn't you... Yashamaru..."

"Yashamaru?" Naruko questioned.

"Yashamaru... he... he killed himself... so that he could try to kill me in the process... he told me these things." Gaara explained.

"Don't listen to him Gaara. I love you. You can count on that one thing, that I will always love you."" Naruko said, still hugging him.

"I love you too." He murmured quietly, hugging her tighter.

Naruko blushed, though she didn't know why. Was she coming down with a fever or something? She just hugged him tighter too, and they stood there like that for awhile before separating.

"Ne... Gaara.. do you wanna be like my kaa-chan and tou-chan are with each other? They're closer then friends... It must be like a never ending game of house! So, how about I be the kaa-chan, and you the tou-chan?"

"Yeah... that sounds nice..."


	4. Teams

Naruko sketched on a piece of paper and looked at it happily. It was a picture of her and Gaara, holding hands and looking in each others eyes while a sunset was behind them. She had drawn them on a beach, she had always wanted to visit one of those! They always seemed so pretty in pictures!

She had yearned to feel the crisp, cool feeling of water enveloping her body with bubbles and creatures stirring to life around her. It was a dream of hers, to visit a beach.

She sighed contently and kneeled up on her bed, pinning it onto the wall where she had put up all of her other sketches. Most were her and Gaara, some were with her parents, some with her little brother and little sister, and some were just scenery.

She had painted her room red, loving the color of her hair but mostly because she shared the color with Gaara. It was a quaint little room, with low lighting. She had a dark wood bed frame with a bed with red covers on it that had lace flowers trailing up it with matching pillow cases. She had a dresser with the same color wood and the floors were the same. She had a white desk in the corner that was covered with jutsu scrolls and drawings. She had twinkle lights hung up around the room and over her headboard to make it seem cuter, and the wall her bed was against was the one covered in drawings. From head to toe, sketches and drawings and watercolors and paintings she had done were strung up, making the wall into one big collage.

Naruko smiled as she felt a chakra signature appear behind her and smiled. Turning around, she saw Gaara standing there, arms folded and smiling lightly at her.

"Gaara-kun." She said, walking so she was in front of him and kissing him. He wrapped his arms around her and when they separated, she couldn't help but think of how much they had both changed over the past four years.

She had had a lot of fun, and had a bunch of memories. Like when she explained to her dad about how Gaara and her were going to 'date' as her mom had called it. He nearly died of a heart attack. Plus there'd been the time when her little sister was born, sporting silver hair and violet eyes, kawaii! And there was when she had to get her first real bra. Once again, her dad freaked out. 'She's too young!' He had screamed, but no, she wasn't. Actually, she was just an early bloomer. A VERY early bloomer. The fact that Gaara had managed to keep up with her height was a feat in itself.

Speaking of Gaara, he'd grown a lot over the years as well. Due to the years of training, he had a great chest and arms, and he was tall for his age. He was thankful, he didn't want his girlfriend to be towering over him after all. He wore simple Sand Nin garb, a white shirt with khaki shorts. But he also wore a brown vest over his shirt and he had a gourd strapped around his chest, and black shinobi sandals.

Naruko had grown to be a beautiful girl. With long red hair that reached her waist that she kept in a secure sock bun on the top of her head and a good figure, she was envied by all the girls her age. She usually wore a red battle kimono that matched her hair with a white obi tied into a bow in the back. She had her White Light Chakra Sabre in her obi for easy access and wore black shinobi sandals. The rest of the time, she wore beautiful kimonos. Now she wasn't vain, not at all, she just felt pretty in them. And even though Gaara always told her she looked pretty, she still dressed in the kimonos at home.

"Are you ready for getting our team assignments tomorrow?" Naruko asked.

"As long as you're on my team." He said.

"What if I'm not?" Naruko asked, worried by the thought of rarely seeing her boyfriend.

"Then I'll MAKE, them switch us onto the same team." Gaara said.

"You can't MAKE them put us on the same team." Naruko said.

"Yes I can. I'm the Kazekage's son, plus, they're all terrified of me. I doubt they would even dare not put us on the same team, they're probably afraid I would go on some physco rampage." Gaara said.

"Oh yeah, why did you always act different when in public?" Naruko asked.

"That's how I was supposed to act after my Uncle tried to kill me. I'm supposed to be physco, and you're supposed to be the only thing that keeps me from killing everyone." Gaara said.

"But that's not how it really is! You're so loving and protective! I don't understand how other people see you as any different." Naruko said.

"That's because I act different. Other than your family, I don't want people close to me. You were the only people to see me for the first time, to trust me and allow me to be myself. No one else is like that, not even my Uncle was like that. I can't stand something like that happening again." Gaara said.

"Gaara-kun..." Naruko whispered.

"It's fine. I was the one who chose to act this way. You don't have to worry about it. Just worry about yourself, okay?" Gaara said, kissing her forehead.

"Okay." Naruko said, before smiling. "Wanna go watch some TV and cuddle?"

Gaara smiled and rolled his eyes, but took her hand wordlessly and the two walked downstairs.

* * *

"Team Four: Matsuki Nadoho, Naruko Hatake, and Gaara Sabaku." The teacher called out.

Naruko smiled and squeezed Gaara's and under the table, while the other girl on the team paled considerably. Gaara just stayed emotionless as ever, but squeezed Naruko's hand back.

The teacher called out the rest of the teams as the class sat relieved that they didn't have to be on a team with the monster. The boy that haunted their nightmares and they were threatened with by their mothers.

"Now, all of you go off to lunch, in your teams, get to know one another. Meet back here in an hour." The teacher said before shunshining somewhere else.

Naruko stood up and let go of Gaara's hand, walking over to their new teammate. "Hey! I'm Naruko, I know we didn't really get to know each other before but... there's no time like the present right?"

"Right..." She said, staring nervously at Gaara, who stood protectively behind Naruko, his arms folded. "I'm Matsuki... so, we're a team now."

"Right." Gaara said. "So don't be useless."

"Gaara-kun!" Naruko scolded, sending him a reprimanding glare. "Sorry, he's not actually like this. You'll see."

Matsuki was confused. Not usually like this? This was nice for him! Right? Well... she had never seen him hurt anyone... or actually, he wasn't ever really MEAN to anyone... He's just truthful, even with what he just said. Isn't the goal of being a ninja to NOT be useless? He never specifically said SHE was useless, he just told her not to be so, indicating that he actually didn't think she was useless... was... was he... not mean?

"Ne, why don't we go to lunch? The dango place downtown is pretty good." Naruko said.

"Uhhh, sure." Matsuki said.

"Hn." Gaara said.

Naruko got a tick on her forehead. Naruko punched Gaara on the head, knocking him down to the floor. "KNOCK IT OFF YOU IDIOT! WE'RE A TEAM NOW SO START ACTING TO MATSUKI TH WAY YOU DO TO ME TTEBAYO!" She yelled.

Gaara groaned and stood up, nursing his head. "Fine, just don't beat me up anymore okay?"

"OH DON'T YOU TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" Naruko yelled.

"Fine, Fine! I'm sorry! I'll be nice okay?" Gaara said, not wanting to get a serious concussion.

Matsuki's eyes widened and she stood in shock at Gaara, the rumored demon and monster of the village apologize to Naruko and then her, and be genuinely nice. Could this be possible? Was the boy they'd all come to believe was inhumane and thirsted for others blood really not mean at all?

Had they been wrong all along?

* * *

Naruko drummed her fingers along her desk as she awaited her sensei's arrival. He wasn't late, in fact, no one's sensei had come yet, but she couldn't wait! She had wanted to be a ninja for so long, and now she finally could be! She had practiced for hours on that stupid clone jutsu so she could get it right! And hours more on her own personal jutsu and her chakra chains!

"Team Four?" She heard a voice say. Wait a second! She was on team Four! It was her sensei! He was here!

Her head whipped up to see a man that had red paint on his cheeks. Half of his face was covered by a white veil and he had black paint around his black eyes. He was tall, probably around 6 feet, and had a good build, definitely your classic Suna Jounin.

Naruko stood as Gaara did, their hands linked. They walked down the stairs with Matsuki to their new sensei, who led them out of the room.

* * *

The team ended up sitting on top of the Suna wall, overlooking the sunset.

"So, you're my new batch of genin huh?" The man said. "Interesting, I never thought I would have two."

Two? What did he mean by two? Like, two girls? Yeah, that made sense, kunoichi were generally in lesser numbers for ninja, especially in Suna. But why didn't he just say girls? Why was he being a bit cryptic? Whatever, she was probably just imagining things.

"Well, as you'll find out, most of the other villages have tests that genin take after their done with the academy to see if they're truly fit to be a ninja." He said. "You however, will not have that. We're no pansy village like Konoha, we don't let useless fangirls roam the halls. We're Suna, we're better than the other nations. We will start missions tomorrow, but for today, we will train. Now, introduce yourselves."

"Umm, sensei, could you do it first? Just so we know how to." Matsuki said.

"Sure, my name is Baki. I like my training and missions. My dislikes are far too gruesome for you, so I will spare you the details. My dream is to live old enough to go gray." He said. "Now, let's start with you."

"Okay, my name is Matsuki. I like my friends, pocky, and training. I dislike people who are prejudice and make stupid assumptions. My dream is to become a Jounin." She said.

"Good. Now you." Baki said, pointing to Naruko.

"Naruko Hatake's the name! I like Gaara-kun, my family, my White Light Chakra Sabre, and drawing and painting! I dislike stupid uncles and mean people! My dream is to become the best swordsman on the Earth with this sword." Naruko said, putting a hand on her precious family heirloom.

"Last." Baki said.

"Gaara Sabaku. I like Naruko and her family. I dislike my father and siblings. My dream... it's none of your business." He said.

Naruko smiled lightly, she knew his dream. He didn't really like opening up to strangers, she was the only one who knew his dream, and he had barely told her! His dream was to one day marry her, the sweetest thing she had ever heard. He truly loved her with all of his heart, and she knew that. He made her feel special, like she was the only girl in the world. It was the best feeling one could get, and she cherished that she had been the one to get his heart every day.

"Alright, see you three tomorrow. We'll meet at Training Ground 4, 8:00 a.m." Baki said.

"Yes sensei!" The three chorused, before he poofed off.


	5. Telling Her

_**IMPORTANT! **_**IMPORTANT! Important! _LOOK OVER HERE AND READ!_ ****Okay, so what I need to tell you guys is that I am NOT abandoning ANY of my stories, I just won't really be working on them over the school year. You see, I've got a bunch of schoolwork AND track AND I have to actually sleep, so, yeah, I can't really write every day, as much as I want to. So what I'm gonna do is not work on them during the normal weeks but then when vacations come around, I'm gonna belt them out! YEAH!**

**Okay! So two chapter today to make up for not explaining, I'll be updating my other stories as well when I write them, but I'm taking them one at a time to make sure that all the followers know!**

**~narutoobsessedgurl**

* * *

"Naruko, he's not even late yet." Matsuki said. (Go back up there and read the Author's note, I KNOW some of you didn't!)

"I know he isn't late yet but he told us to wait here for him and he's been gone for ages! I wanna train!" She whined again.

"Naruko, whining isn't going to change anything. He'll get here when he gets here." Gaara said.

"But Gaara! We're wasting precious sunlight!" Naruko said.

"I'll tell you what, if you wait patiently for Baki-sensei to get here, I'll buy you ramen tonight, okay?" Gaara said.

Naruko shot up abruptly, by Gaara's side in an instant. "Really!?"

"Really really." Gaara said.

"You mean, like all the ramen I want?" Naruko asked.

"As much as you'd like." Gaara said.

"You're not lying to me, are you ttebayo?" Naruko questioned.

"No Naruko, I wouldn't lie to you." Gaara said.

"Yatta!" Naruko cheered, throwing a fist up in the air. "Okay! I'll be good!"

Nearly half an hour later, Baki poofed into existence in front of the team. He wore a proud smile on his face which made Naruko hold back from blowing up at him, which she was also grateful for, because then she would have lost her promised ramen. He had a few slips of paper in his hand, which made Naruko curious as to what they were.

Matsuki took the words right out of her mouth though. "Ne, sensei, what are those slips of paper for?"

"Well Matsuki, it appears that there has been a change of plans. The council and the Kazekage have decided that this year, our team will be attending the Chunin Exams, the youngest in decades. Rather than the B-rank mission we were initially assigned for tomorrow, you will pack today and we will leave for Konoha tomorrow." Baki said.

"The Chunin Exams? All right!" Naruko cheered.

"Yep, any questions?" Baki asked.

"Where will we stay while we're there?" Matsuki asked.

"We'll stay in a hotel room that Konoha will supply." Baki says.

"Like, only one hotel room?" Matsuki asked, glancing nervously at Gaara. Sure, she didn't think Gaara was a bad person anymore, but she wouldn't rush to anyone's aid to defend him. He was a great fighter, and she respected him, but she couldn't drill the common notion that if you pissed him off he would kill you out of her head. And falling asleep in the same room as him was a worry, campsite she could do, but room?

"Yes, only one hotel room. But there is a bathroom, so you won't have to change in front of one another." Baki said.

"Umm, sensei, speaking of changing, how much clothing should we bring?" Naruko asked.

"Bring about two weeks worth of clothing, and we can wash it while we're there. We will most likely be there for around two months." Baki said.

"Is there anything else we should bring?" Matsuki asked.

"Just the average. Kunai, shuriken, clothing, medical kits. If there's anything else you wish to bring, go ahead and bring it. There is gonna be a lot of down time there." Baki said. "Anything else?"

"No sensei!" They said.

"Great, now get packing, we leave tomorrow at dawn. Meet me at the gates." Baki said before shunshining away.

Matsuki shunshined away a few seconds later, leaving just Naruko and Gaara.

"I'll see you later Gaara-kun! We gonna do the usual?" Naruko said.

"Yep, see you later." Gaara said.

Naruko pecked him on the lips before they both shunshined to their respective homes. They had an almost tradition where everytime they had a mission where they met at dawn, Gaara would just stay over her house and they would walk to the gates together. Since Naruko often times slept in late, getting the same habits from her mother and unfortunately, her father did the same, Gaara would make sure to get her up on time.

* * *

Naruko was calmly packing her bag, Gaara sitting on her bed with the backpack, when her mom and dad walked in.

"Naruko, we need to talk to you." Kushina said, leaning against the wall.

"Sure kaa-chan, tou-chan, whatcha need?" Naruko asked.

"Well, Naruko, you know how you always asked about that cloak that hangs up in the living room?" Kakashi said.

"Yeah, what about it?" Naruko asked, shoving some bandages in her pack.

"Well, we think it's time we explain just why that is in this house." Kakashi said.

"Okaaay? Why is it in the house then?" Naruko asked.

"Well, there's something that your Kaa-chan and I never told you. Something that we're sure you're not going to like." Kakashi said.

"What is it?" Naruko asked.

"I'm not your real tou-chan." Kakashi said.

Naruko froze her movements cold, her eyes wide and she could feel her throat closing in on itself. Not her real tou-chan? What?! No. No! That can't be true!

"That can't be true tou-chan." She said.

"It is musume, I'm sorry. Your real father was my sensei, Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage of the Leaf Village. Your other bloodline, the one we never like to talk about, is the Flying Thunder God Technique. He was the greatest shinobi to ever live, and you are his daughter. We wanted to tell you before you left for the Leaf Village." He said.

Naruko backed up, away from her parents. "So... so everything you've ever told me... everything I thought I knew about myself... it was all a lie!?" She shouted. "I trusted you! I loved you! And you've been lying to me this entire time! How am I supposed to believe anything you say anymore?!"

"Naruko, honey, please understand why we did this. We couldn't let you know, you wouldn't have understood the things we decided when you were younger!" Kushina said.

"We didn't want to tell you because we felt like it would divide us as a family." Kakashi said. " We thought you wouldn't understand, you wouldn't have known what was going on. The words wouldn't make any sense to you. You would never think of me as your father."

"It would have been better than being lied to! Ugh! I can't believe you guys! After all these years! You are just now telling me this! You don't love me! Any parent who loved their child, would know they would understand!" She yelled, tears streaming down her face. "You betrayed me! I hate you both!"

She dove out the window and ran as fast as she could. She felt hot tears flowing down her face rapidly, and no matter how much she rubbed them away, they were just replaced by new ones. Her own family had lied to her so many times.

"Naruko!" Kakashi called after his daughter, because that's exactly what she was to him, his daughter.

"I think it would be best if I went to talk to her." Gaara said, steeping in front of the window. "Don't worry, I'll find her Mr. and Mrs. Hatake."

* * *

The sounds of sniffling filled the air as Gaara stood by the academy schoolyard, a place where he and Naruko had played a lot and looked on in wonder (Okay, that was more her) when they were children.

"Naruko?" Gaara asked to the air, only to hear the sniffling cease, the air becoming silent. "Naruko, they're not here."

More silence.

Gaara took a deep breath. "First clap."

Clap. Clap.

Gaara started to walk towards where he heard the clapping from. She was somewhere near the bigger part of the obstacle course. He stood in front of it and looked over it, scanning it.

"Second clap."

Clap. Clap.

Somewhere in the tubes then. They often filled the long, pitch black tubes with mud, to make them a challenge to not only get through, but to help chase off anymore of the possible kunoichi who cared more about their looks than the job.

"Third clap."

Clap. Clap.

Gaara smiled sadly as he took in the sight of the love of his life, curled up inside one of the tunnels. She had tears running down her face but she smiled back at him.

"You found me." She said.

"I always do." Gaara said.

* * *

The talk that awaited Naruko back at her house was one she most certainly did not want to face, but Gaara wouldn't let her run away. Not when she was just about to leave for two months. She only agreed to go back because she made him swear that he would be there the whole time, holding her hand and standing right by her side.

The talk had been awkward, but Naruko had forgiven her parents for not telling her, and they had forgiven her for all the things she'd said. She had learned all about her birth tou-chan now, and she knew that it might be an issue in the Leaf Village. But she'd ignore it as best she could. She loved her own tou-chan, the one that had raised her for years, and she certainly felt like he was her tou-chan first and foremost. She could never not love him.

* * *

Naruko shifted to her side in the bed. She just couldn't get to sleep for some reason. Sighing, she stood up and slipped on a pair of slippers. She hopped out of her window and walked up the side of her house to the roof, where Gaara sat, facing the moon.

She padded over and sat next to him, taking the hand of the boy she loved in hers.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" he asked.

"I couldn't sleep. Couldn't stop thinking." She said, her head looking down at the roof. "Gaara, you know how the exams can get. What if we aren't good enough?"

"Naruko," Gaara said, "you have more talent in your little finger than all of those other ninja put together. You could beat them without even trying. Don't worry about it."

"But I am worried!" Naruko exclaimed. "You know how many bloodlines Konoha has! Apparently, this year, all of the genin teams have at least one person from a clan on them. What if they're better than us? We could get hurt, you could get hurt!"

"Naruko, you have to believe in yourself. You're the mix of two clans, remember? You can beat anyone there with your abilities. Besides, if anyone dares to try to touch you, they'll have to talk to me first." Gaara said.

Naruko giggled. "Always so protective of me. Ever gonna let me pick my own fights or are you just gonna make them think I'm just some weak little girl, ttebayo? I don't want those lame Leaf ninjas thinking I can't handle myself."

"No, I'll let you fight. Maybe you can teach those useless fan girls a lesson on what a real kunoichi is like." He said, looking into her eyes and smiling. "Show them the spirit of the number one kunoichi, Naruko Hatake, the girl I know and love."

They leaned in and kissed, in what Naruko felt was the most amazing, loving, and passionate kiss that had ever been shared between two people. She felt warmth flood her chest and her heart seemed to flutter faster than a hummingbird's wings. Her hand that rested on Gaara's chest felt that his was reacting the same way. When they finally parted, Naruko could feel his teal eyes gazing into her own deep pools of blue.

"I love you." She whispered.

"I love you too." Gaara whispered back.

He then lifted her up bridal style and climbed back into her room through the window, setting her down in her bed. He sat behind her back and cradled her against his chest, letting her head rest on his shoulder.

"Go to sleep, you'll need it for tomorrow." He said.

He didn't need to tell her twice. Shutting her eyes, Naruko felt herself drift off into a deep sleep, her love's arms wrapped around her, and she felt warmer than she ever had before.


	6. The Leaf Village

"Whoa..." Naruko whispered in awe as her team walked up to the gates of Konoha, standing tall and proud before the village.

"Whoa is right." Matsuki said.

"Come on, let's check in." Baki said, walking over to the station near the gate. He started sorting out their papers as his genin stood behind him.

"Ne, Naruko, think your sword will come in handy?" Matsuki asked. "From what we learned about Leaf Nin, they don't generally use swords."

"Well then, guess who's got the distance weapon!" Naruko said, sliding out her Chakra Sabre. "I'll show them the true wrath of the Hatake, ttebayo!"

She channeled lightning chakra into it and made some swipes through the air with it, making the air crackle around her sword, showing the lightning, before she stabbed it into a nearby tree, searing the place where it had impacted.

"Naruko! Put that away!" Baki called, not turning away from the guards.

"Heh heh, sorry sensei!" Naruko said, putting her sword back into its sheath and tightening her obi. She put her hands behind her neck and smiled, looking over the Leaf Village. She spotted the heads of the Hokage, hanging over the village, and sucked in a quick breath as she rested her eyes on the final face.

Her father.

She had never really known what he looked like. After all, her parents clearly didn't like to talk about it and they didn't much cover Leaf history in Suna textbooks. She had only ever heard of him as a terrible enemy that essentially forced Suna to become allies with them.

But now she had a huge model of his face carved into a mountain side to show her what he looked like. Had she gotten her eyes from him? Sure, she obviously had her mom's hair, but her eyes had never been explained. She probably had her dad's eyes.

She wondered what kind of qualities she had inherited from him. Was he nice? Was he funny? What was he like? What made her dad fall in love with her mom? Or vice versa? Would... would he... would he have loved her? If he had lived? Was he proud of her? Wherever he was, was he looking down on her, proud of her?

"Go to the Hokage Tower to get your room assignment." The guard said, tearing Naruko out of her thoughts.

Baki handed them their papers, so that if they were asked to show them, they would have them. Then he told them to go off to their own devices while he got everything sorted out, and that he would find them later.

He walked off, leaving the three genin standing near the gate.

"Maybe we could check out some of the shops. I heard that Konoha had a lot of cool stuff we don't have in Suna. Plus we could get flowers! Those are so beautiful!" Matsuki said.

Gaara stared at Naruko, who was looking at the ground, thinking hard. He squeezed her hand and she looked at him.

"Are you alright?" He asked gently.

"I'm fine." She said.

"You sure? I know this is hard on you." He said.

"Don't worry, I'm fine, honest." Naruko said. "Ne, why don't you go find something manly to do. Me and Matsuki are so going shopping! Right 'Suki?"

"Yeah!" Matsuki cheered.

"See you later Gaara-kun!" Naruko said, kissing his cheek.

"Bye Gaara!" Matsuki said, as the two girls joined arms and rushed off, chattering excitedly.

Gaara sighed. It seemed that he would be left with nothing to do and no one to do it with. Too bad. But if it meant that Naruko would be distracted from thinking about her father, even if the distraction was something as trivial as shopping, he would encourage her to go and do it. He couldn't stand to see her upset. He settled on just walking around, it wasn't like he was a social person after all.

* * *

"'Suki," Naruko said, "can I tell you something?"

"Sure Naruko, you know my ears are always open." Matsuki said, hoisting the bag she had further up on her shoulder.

"Well, you see... there's this thing I just found out, and it's really been bothering me." Naruko said. "My tou-chan... he's not **actually **my tou-chan. Like, he isn't the one who you know... helped make me."

"Oh..." Matsuki said. "Well... who is your real tou-chan then?"

Naruko looked up at the mountain where her father's face was. "You can't tell anyone. Promise?"

"I promise." Matsuki said.

Naruko sighed and lifted her arm, pointing at the giant stone face that looked over the village. Matsuki's eyes widened.

"No way... him? The Yondaime?" She asked. Naruko nodded her head and was about to embellish when some runt smacked into her.

She scowled and picked the boy up by his shirt, holding him in the air. Two teenagers her age skidded to a halt after coming around the corner, seeing Naruko there, holding the boy. Their eyes widened when they took in her red Sand hitaite that was tied tightly around her upper arm, that was left bare from her sleeveless battle kimono.

"Well well well, what have we got here?" She said. "Some little disrespectful Leaf runt who thinks it's okay to run into people blindly."

"Put! Me! Down!" The boy said.

"Heh! Fat chance kid, I think I should teach you a lesson." Naruko said.

"Who are you and what are you doing here? You're Sand Shinobi!" A girl with pink hair said.

"Wow, really? I didn't know that! Of course we know we're Sand Shinobi pinkie!" Naruko said.

"It's illegal that you're in our town! Shinobi from other hidden villages are not allowed to enter others territory uninvited or it is seen as an act of war!" The pink-headed girl said.

"We're not uninvited kid, so don't worry. We're here for the Chunin Exams." Naruko said.

"The Chunin Exams?" The boy by her side asked.

"Yeah. The Chunin Exams are a week from now. We're entered in them, hence why we're here. Now, I think it's time that I finally take care of this kid." Naruko said, turning her attention back to the boy.

"You better not do that!" The pink-headed girl said. "He's the Hokage's grandson!"

"Naruko!" Matsuki said. "Just put the kid down."'

"'Suki, you know I don't take well to rude people! He didn't even say 'sorry' ttebayo!" She said.

That's when a rock flew out of nowhere and struck her on the hand, cutting a gash into her hand, making her drop the kid. He skittered back and Naruko got a tick on her forehead.

Faster than thunder, as her ability would allow her, she had her sword out and in position, crackling with lightning. Her eyes were narrowed and her famous Uzumaki temper already flaring.

"Naruko, you aren't really going to use the Sabre are you!? You know what your tou-chan told you!" Matsuki said.

"Well that's these people's problem! They should know better than to anger an Uzumaki with the talent of a Hatake!" Naruko said, looking the boy with dark hair and dark eyes dead on, silently challenging him to bring it on.

"Naruko." Called a rough voice. "Stop acting stupid, you know what will happen if you hurt any of these foreign ninja."

"G-Gaara!" Naruko called out in surprise, her boyfriend hanging upside down beside the enemy.

"And as for you." Gaara said, facing the boy next to him that was shocked, while he had no emotion on his face. "Touch her again, and you'll wish you were never born."

He shunshined down in a wave of sand beside his teammates, and Naruko sheathed her sword and relaxed more at the feeling of Gaara next to her. Gaara wordlessly took her hand and they started to walk away when a voice called out behind them.

"You two! What are your names?"

The team turned and saw the dark-haired boy from earlier standing in front of what was presumably his team, looking expectantly at them.

"It is customary to give your name first when asking for another's name." Naruko said.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

"Naruko Hatake."

"Gaara Sabaku."

They walked around the corner and Naruko couldn't help but smile. While she hadn't really been paying attention, a Konoha nin had managed to get a hit on her, a pretty impressive feat. Maybe they weren't actually half bad ninja.

* * *

Baki found them and showed them to their room in a hotel called the 'The Lotus Hotel' that was located in the middle of town and seemed pretty nice. It was definitely a nice hotel, and was apparently reserved for the Chunin Exams specifically, so they wouldn't at least be hearing any annoying citizens drawl on about how hard their life was.

Naruko had made her way to the baths quickly, wanting some time to relax and unwind, think about the day and all. When she was immersed in the hot water, she looked up at the sky, and saw her father's stone face still looking out over the village.

'Would you be proud, tou-chan?' She thought, before closing her eyes and sinking further into the water.

She probably seemed like a physco to the Konoha genin she had seen earlier. After all, her temper flared and she can't control herself when that happens. She's not usually mean like that, especially to children. But for that kid to run straight into her and then have that pink-headed chick accuse her of acts of war. Pf! Who did she think Naruko was?

Plus she had shown them one of her skills, something that's usually more effective when kept hidden. Now they know she can use her lightning chakra and that she's a swordsman, though they could have probably have guessed the latter when they saw her sword. And she had shown her bloodline, something she wasn't even sure when or how she activated the bloodline, and she wasn't even completely sure she knew how to use it. The only upside of that was that they probably didn't know it was a bloodline.

But she also had her other bloodline to fall back on, her chakra chains. Those would be useful once the real fighting started. She could easily capture an opponent in them, as well as kill anyone. In fact, the former was easier, since all she had to do was stab them through the chest with it, rather than weave intricate patterns.

The only other thing that she had to worry about was something that she had just been told the previous day by her parents, and it scared her immensely.

She housed the Nine-tailed fox, the Kyuubi, inside of her.

She knew she had to be careful here, she couldn't risk letting it get out. It was bad enough when Gaara's demon acted up and didn't even fully take control of him, and he was only the one tails! Who knew what would happen if her demon, which was nine times stronger than his, were to get out. Now her parents had reassured her that the possibility of it breaking free were very low, since her father had amazing sealing abilities, but she was still worried. As of now, the Kazekage, her parents, her, and Gaara were the only ones who knew that she contained the Kyuubi, and she intended to keep it that way.

She eventually made her way back up to her room, where Matsuki was already fast asleep and so was their sensei. She sighed when she noticed the empty bed. They had three beds, and it was decided that her and Matsuki would sleep in one, Baki in another, and Gaara would sleep on the third, since there was only one queen mattress. She thought it useless though, that they had three beds, after all, Gaara wouldn't use his unless he was laying in it, and he only ever bothered with beds if she slept in one with him.

Naruko changed into her pajamas, just a simple pair of gray short shorts made of cotton and a light yellow tank top. She let her hair out of its top bun, letting it flow down to her waist, and she slipped out of the room by the window, making her way to the roof.

Gaara's eyes met hers as soon as she stepped onto the roof and he sighed. She walked over and dropped down next to him, his arm wrapping around her and resting on her arm, where it rubbed warmth into her.

"Naruko, why are you up?" He asked, exasperated.

"Hey, you're not the only that gets to stay up." She said, poking his cheek. "Everyone has that right."

"Yes, but I know that you love to sleep, and only avoid it when something's troubling you. So, what is it? Is it about the Exams again?" He asked.

She shook her head. "It's about the... you know... ahem, prisoner inside of me." She said. "Gaara, what if I'm not as good a jinchurriki as you are? What if I can't hold him back?"

Gaara chuckled, and Naruko's brow furrowed. "Naruko, you didn't just become a jinchurriki yesterday, you've been one your whole life. You've been holding that thing back the whole time, and you definitely seem to have handled it better than I did."

"Well, I guess-"

"No, stop second guessing yourself." Gaara said. "You're strong. You're the strongest person I know. You can do anything you set your mind to, and you're a hell of a lot stronger than me."

"Mou, then why are you so protective?" She asked, smiling.

"Haven't you known me long enough to know? I'm completely paranoid." He said.

"Mmm." She made the sound of agreement, before resting her head on his shoulder. She nestled into his neck and he wrapped his other arm around her. She swung her feet over his lap to get more comfortable and closed her eyes. "Ne, Gaara?" She whispered.

"Yeah?" He whispered back.

"I love you." She whispered.

He tightened his hold on her and kissed her hair. "I love you too."

And that's how Naruko fell asleep, cradled in her love's arms. He carried her back inside and put her into her side of the bed, being careful not to disturb Matsuki, and then kissed her forehead before going back onto the roof.

All he hoped for was that they would be able to get through the Chunin Exams without any major problems.


End file.
